Friday, June 3, 2011

Does a Huge Advance and Hype Kill a Story/Book?

Years back, when an Indian book was in the news for the
phenomenal advance the writer got, there
was major hype around the book. Everyone waited eagerly for the book to hit the
bookshelves. So did I. When the book finally arrived, I am sure most readers
read it to see whether the book justified the 7 figure advance it got. Many
felt it was not worth the money paid to the writer. Whatever the feelings, the
book sold really well.

The
same thing happened last year. Another book was in the news for all the wrong
reasons- the huge advance the writer was awarded. I read quite a few of the reviews; for many the book was
not worth the huge advance.

These big advance hypes create a huge buzz around the books. There is
an overwhelming curiousity factor. More often than not, people buy the books,
but do not like the stories. By themselves the books may be wonderful, but,
when compared to the vast amount of money, the stories definitely pale in
comparision. The big advance I feel increases people's expectations. However wonderful the book, it eventually falls short of people's expectations.

I read
both the books. They were good. But, most people kept the advance in mind while
reading the book. It was like they were weighing each word against
a currency note. The words then looked small next to the money they had earned before even a single copy was sold. One
book has become a benchmark for other Indian books. The second book has just
died a hasty death.

One thing I realized was that all the hype
about 6-7 figure deals create a major
buzz around the book. The book gets a
golden aura.Whether it lives upto to that aura or not, plenty of copies are sold.
Sometimes I wonder whether people in the publishing business
deliberately create the hype, otherwise how else will they publicize the
book.

Is a big advance a measure of a writer’s craft? Shouldn’t a book be judged by its
literary merit, by the story, words, character, plot and world building? By the
connection the story has made with the readers. I have loved several books
that did not make much money. Do you
equate a huge advance with a great book? Have you ever felt that a book was not
worth the advance it got? Do you feel over
hyping a book can kill it? I would love to hear everyone’s views.

26 comments:

I think it depends. There's no doubt that a lot of hype raises awareness of a book. And yes, I agree, a reader can be thinking about the money while they read the book.

The amount a publisher pays isn't so much about how good a writer the writer is, or what it may say about the writer's craft, I believe it's more about how marketable a publisher believes the book is. And also, what impact it will have on the reading public.

I suppose the big advance is like saying this book must be phenomenal to garner so much money. Sometimes it lives up to the hype, sometimes not. Reminds me of the NFL draft: sometimes the football players with the biggest deals have awesome seasons, and sometimes you're left wondering why the heck they paid so much for such a lackluster player.

I think the book should stand on it's quality, how well written it is. I understand the reason for hype sometimes, but I don't see it justified a good bit of the time. This goes along with one of my pet peeves, how a celebrity gets a book deal solely because of who they are, while many wonderful writers have to struggle to make it happen. Good topic for discussion, Rachna!

Interesting question. I think the book itself may sell a lot, but the author's career can often stall after that. If their second book doesn't earn as much as the first, the publisher will drop them, and the writer can end up being toxic in the industry.

I was just remembering an instance of that today--a writer I heard speak at a writers' conference after making a huge book deal. The book sold a lot, and was made into a movie, but his book is out of print, and he never seems to have published another one. So writers should squirrel away that huge advance, because it may be all they'll ever earn.

I wonder that the hype surrounding a huge advance is often so the publisher can get some money back.

In the UK, much is made of the memoirs of former Prime Ministers and other high office politicians and the advances they receive are huge. My view is that, if I didn't believe their rhetoric in office, I'm certainly not going to believe a book and line their lockets with my money!

I really love it when a little known title starts a buzz by word of mouth.

Has to be quality. If it is then fine. Make as much money as you can. But Rachna, I've read stuff from famous authors that was AWFUL, but they commanded huge advances, because of their earlier and much better works. I don't think about that stuff when I read, but I guess folks who don't write do?

I hate it when someone famous makes bookoos of money for a rotten book or a book they never really wrote to begin with. Grrrrrrr

I think it's only normal for most people to be intrigued by something that garners the writer a big advance. Especially if that's what's fixed in their minds by the media. Personally, I don't read any books with that topic in mind. I'm much more interested in the story itself then what the writer made from it because I know how misleading those numbers can be.

Great topic. I guess it becomes a shame when a lousy book is given so much promotion to the detriment of really good ones... but like the Little Engine that Could, we just have to believe that the good stuff will prevail; and the little guys will reach their rightful destination!

@ D.U. Okonwo...I too feel that publishers see the marketability of a book when they hype it. If it can be marketed, then they go berserk.

@ Laura...many times I have felt that certain books did not deserve the hype or the advance.

@ Karen...in India too, books by celebrities are talked about and they get deals while a good writer is struggling to get his/her book published.

@ Tana...quality work gets around by a word of mouth publicity.

@ Anne..I too believe that writers with huge advances should definitely squirrel away the money as it may be the only advance they will ever receive. I hate to say this, but most of these people end up becoming one book wonders.

@ Lydia....at one point I did weigh the story against the money it had earned.

I think you're right. I think people have the book on an impossible scale weighing it against a huge stack of gold it can't possibly balance out. You see that in several American authors - There's one romance author who I think really gets a lot of backlash because folks know how much money she makes. It's an ugly mixture of unrealistic expectations and jealousy, but I guess it's human nature to react that way.

I wrote about hype at length a while ago. I don’t put much faith in it. Books have to be marketed, yes; advertising is a part of our lives and a necessary part too but where hype differs is that it builds up an unreasonable expectation. Years ago I learned that there was to be a new Batman film (what turned out to be Tim Burton’s first film) and I read every scrap of information I could about the film so that by the time it came to watch the actual film nothing, no film could possibly live up to my expectations. I ruined it for myself. That is what hype does, it oversells and ultimately disappoints.

You need to watch when you hear that people have had big advances. The word itself is the key. It is an advance. If the subsequent sales do not meet expectations that advance can be clawed back.

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Great point! I think that advance is indicative of how marketable the book is, not necessarily how amazing the writing is. A lot of books are really good, and the publishers know they'll gain a wide audience, but it doesn't mean the writer is more skillful than other writers.

Good questions Rachna. I do agree that a large advance raises expectations, and the reader can get caught up in the hype. I've read a couple books by my favorite authors that the advances were publicized, and I was disappointed by the story. I'm not sure if it was the story itself, or if my expectation was so high I couldn't read it without the interference.

The very nature and purpose of hype is to jack up sales by whipping up curiosity, and does not actually reflect on the value of the content in the book.I too get caught up many a time and buy a book. However I do not weigh the story or writing per se against the price the writer has got for it. To me if I enjoyed it, it was my money well spent, if I didn't like it then I just say the author was indeed lucky and wonder if his luck will hold out...at least I would be more wary in future.

I think that when you hype a book so much, it works as a kind of spoiler. Your mind goes into the book ready to be amazed, when quite a lot of the time that will not happen. I have had that problem with quite a few books that were supposed to be 'the greatest books ever' but then after reading them I wasn't impressed.

I think it can work both ways. Hype creates big sales, and if it is as good as the money justified, then it will continue to sell well. But sometimes I will avoid a book because of the fuss; I want to read a book for the story itself, not how popular it will or has become. Does that make sense?

I think its planned and deliberate. Its also brilliant. Big books are going to be made into big movies so when they advertise that Author XYZ just got paid 3 million dollars to write a new book, they know full well that they are going to make that back in spades. The old saying "money talks and bulls--t walks"

Remember when Terminator 2 came out. Arnold was paid $15mill for a 700 word script. $21k for each spoken word. I can only hope that one day I get paid that much!

Even if the hype ruins a career. They still made enough to laugh all the way to the bank.

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